


End Of The Line

by SilverPoisoning



Category: Slipknot (Band)
Genre: Angst, Break Up, I haven't written in years and just wanted to get back into it with something small and easy, M/M, expect absolutely no emotional fulfillment from this fic, in which case enjoy, no comfort, no context really either tbh, no happy ending, this is really vague and rambly, unless you get your kicks from random feels fests
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 10:52:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22566724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverPoisoning/pseuds/SilverPoisoning
Summary: It's a ~900 word breakup oneshot. There isn't much else to say. Based on a random Sad Dialogue Prompt (the first line, slightly modified as the original prompt was a touch too theatrical even for my dramatic ass).
Relationships: Joey Jordison/Jim Root
Comments: 10
Kudos: 12





	End Of The Line

**Author's Note:**

> Written at 3AM by a non-native english speaker (writer?). Did not bother to get it proofread by anyone, so any typos and/or horribly malformed sentences that make absolutely no sense are 100% on me. Feel free to point them out so I can attempt to fix them.

"Just tell me the truth! Tell me you’ve had enough! tell me I don’t make you happy anymore! Tell me, so we can stop pretending. So I can at least feel like the pain I've been feeling for months is justified!" screams Joey, his eyes welling up with tears.

"I never meant to hurt you" Jim says quietly, as if there was still a way to save what was crumbling down around them. Joey laughs, his tone mocking.

"You thought there was a painless way out of this? That after 6 years, if you just thought carefully enough, you could find the words to tell me you don't want me anymore without hurting me?" Joey asks.

"No, I – look, I just thought–" Jim starts, but his words fail him. What did he think? That they could do this peacefully? That he could end their relationship, knowing – seeing – how in love Joey still was with him, without making Joey feel betrayed, led on and lied to? Did he think waiting was going to make things any better? No, Jim wasn't that stupid. He was just scared, and now he was facing exactly what he had been so desperately dying to avoid.

Joey stares at him silently, giving him the chance to talk, but as the silence surrounds them, Joey struggles to swallow his tears.

"You’re breaking a 6-year relationship and you really have nothing to say?" Joey asks, his voice cracking from the emotions he's trying to hold inside him, though his efforts are useless. The tears have already started to run down his face.

"I'm sorry" Jim responds with the only words he can think of.

"Wow, thanks, that fixes it all then" Joey spits, venom dripping from his voice. Had Jim's heart not been in pieces already, it would've shattered from the anger, hurt and hatred evident in his lover's voice.

"It doesn't. I just don't know what else to say" Jim admits, his own voice growing unsteady by the minute with the fist-sized lump of guilt, that had been nesting in his chest for months, rising to his throat.

"You could give me a reason. An explanation. You could tell me what happened, what I did to make you fall out of love. You could tell me why you waited for so long. You haven't told me that you love me in months – what took you so long to finally admit you were done with me?" Joey asks. Jim shakes his head, rubbing his burning eyes with the palms of his hands.

"You didn't do shit. I just fucking – I didn't wanna do this. I still don't. I mean I want to cause I want us – I need us to be over. I need to be alone. But I didn't wanna hurt you and I knew I would and as long as I didn't say anything I could pretend that you didn't know, that if I just don't think about it, then maybe I would find that spark again and we could go back to normal and I could –" Jim's restless ramble fades out.

"– you could love me again" Joey finishes the sentence for him. Jim nods, pain stabbing in his chest. How cruel could he be?

"I'm sorry" Jim repeats again, knowing the words will do no good in soothing the pain he's causing Joey.

For a while they sit in silence – it's not comfortable, but it's better than any words either of them are able to say in the moment. Eventually, Joey is the one to speak up again.

"You said I didn't do shit" he asks, looking for clarification.

"You didn't do anything wrong. I didn't– You didn't make me fall out of love. This is not about some dumb stunt or shit. I wish it was, I wish I could pinpoint exactly what happened, so I could've been mad and blame you for it and we could've fought about it and then talk it out and move on. But you've been fine, just like you've always been. You didn't change or do shit but for some reason I did and I can’t fucking understand why" Jim explains, pouring out his soul as fast as he can, just hoping from the bottom of his heart that Joey believes him. He feels stupid, he feels lost, and he hates how insufficient the words falling from his tongue feel. He wishes english language had more words, better words, to explain just what he means in a way that would leave no room for Joey to doubt him. But alas, his vocabulary is limited, and he senses his hopeless rant falling flat in it's attempt to soothe Joey's insecurities.

"There's really nothing I can do to make you give me another chance?" Joey asks, voice pleading for the smallest string of hope that what they had is not all lost. Jim shakes his head in denial, pressing the palms of his hands into his eyes until he's seeing stars, hoping he could jump into the darkness and slip away from the nightmare he has created.

"Okay" sounds the quiet, defeated acceptance from Joey's lips. With that, Joey turns around and walks out of the room. Jim sits still, silent, listening to Joey's footsteps walking away from him, knowing every step is a nail in the coffin of their relationship. He takes a deep breath and lets down the walls, sinking onto the floor.


End file.
